Finding an Old, Dry Ballpoint Pen that Still Leaves a Deep Indentation on the Page

Dear Delyara, I dug a cheap blue pen out from under the sofa cushions tonight to write down a phone number. The ink was completely dry—it wouldn't leave a single blue mark on the paper no matter how hard I scribbled—but it left a deep, white groove in the pad where the metal ball had pressed into the fiber. It made me think about how some experiences leave an impression on us even after the emotional color has completely faded away. You can look at an old relationship or an old career path and feel absolutely nothing—no anger, no love, no regret—yet the groove is still there in your character, shaping the way your thoughts move over the surface. We are all deeply marked by things that no longer have any ink left in them.